Youths need technical skills to secure jobs both locally and abroad, Labour PS Shadrack Mwadime has said.
Mwadime said the government was committed to sourcing for job opportunities abroad as a way of addressing the high rate of employment in the country,
The PS said the government intends to sign a bilateral labour agreement with Germany hopefully by September 2024 to ensure labour migration between the two countries is undertaken in a structured and organised manner.
“You are all aware of the number of young people who have been unfortunately duped by unscrupulous private recruitment agencies. We want to bring that to an end so that when we secure employment opportunities for our young people, the transition is as seamless as it can be,” Mwadime said.
The PS addressed the press when he presided over the National Industrial Training Authority (Nita) 2023-24 – 2027-28 Strategic Plan at the institution’s Athi River campus in Machakos County last Wednesday.
“We are here to launch the Nita’s five-year strategic plan. The objective is to ensure that this institution can grow from the level it is currently to an even higher level,” Mwadime said.
He said the Authority plays a critical role in terms of the government’s bottom-up economic transformation agenda.
“This is where young people get training and skills that they require to access jobs particularly abroad. I’m saying so because the unemployment rate in this country is extremely high, and we have been able to source for employment opportunities abroad,” Mwadime said.
Mwadime added, “Just as an example, we had our second round of negotiation with German officials about three weeks ago. We intend to sign a bilateral labour agreement with Germany hopefully by September when the President visits the country during a cultural day. They have invited him as a guest and thereafter, we will sign a bilateral agreement with them.”
He said the government was also committed to skilling the youth to be marketable locally and abroad, the reason why Nita is critical alongside other technical and institutions of higher learning in the country.
“We are targeting these young people to access jobs abroad. Not only that but to get skills that can make them marketable. It’s not just a question of undertaking a course that will eventually not be beneficial to you,” Mwadime said.
Mwadime said courses undertaken by the youths should be geared towards the demands of the market abroad.
He said the government also insist on incubation hubs for the youth.
“Those who won’t be able to access jobs abroad can as well establish their own enterprises within. But, they need to be nurtured as to how they can run their enterprises and succeed businesswise. Then, the economy is bound to expand,” he said.
Nita board chairman Aden Noor Ali called on the youths across the country to consider taking various causes in the Authority’s campuses and attain life skills.
“Nita is a place where youths get skills. For those of them who have skills, we can re-skill and up-skill them. If youths want jobs, this is where to get the training unlike getting professional papers which don’t give them employment,” Ali said.
Ali said Nita offers over 45 courses which can give more youths jobs within the country and abroad.
“The problem we have is that our youth are looking for white-collar jobs which aren’t enough for everyone. We ask them to come and train at Nita,” Ali said.
He said 75 per cent of those who had trained at Nita were either employed or self-employed.
“For instance in the government’s affordable housing programme, most youths working there have trained with us at Nita. Nita has trained and issued its graduates with certificates in wiring, plumbing, masonry, carpentry, and roofing, among others. You learn here, you get jobs straight. Sometimes people say there are no jobs and we are giving them opportunities to come and acquire the skills at Nita," Ali said.
